Costco is trying to crack down on nonmembers using its cards

Costco is the latest company to crack down on nonmembers using its services, announcing it will begin to require proof of membership at self-checkout lines.

Costco said in a statement that its expansion of self-checkout services has led to more nonmember shoppers using membership cards that do not belong to them to checkout. The company said it will begin to ask all shoppers to show their membership card with their photo at self-checkout stations.

“Costco is able to keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses, making our membership fee and structure important to us,” a spokesperson for Costco said in a statement.

“Our membership policy states that our membership cards are not transferable and since expanding our self-service checkout, we’ve noticed that nonmember shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them,” the spokesperson said. “We don’t feel it’s right that nonmembers receive the same benefits and pricing as our members.”

Costco is a wholesale warehouse that requires shoppers to have a membership with the company to purchase their products. A standard Costco membership costs $60 per year for two membership cards, while its “executive” membership costs $120 per year with two membership cards that also include additional rewards and discounts, according to its website.  

Costco sells a wide range of merchandise — from food to home goods to electronics and clothing — in bulk, making it a more affordable option for many items.

Costco’s crackdown on memberships comes just a month after Netflix also announced stricter policies on password sharing. Netflix rolled out new ways to curtail password sharing for Netflix accounts outside someone’s “household” by sending out reminders last month that said, “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household.”